High flying Inter head to Genoa to face a tough and resurgent Sampdoria in an effort to keep the pressure on league leaders Milan. Match today Wednesday at 15:00CET.

Despite losing seven of their previous ten matches, the situation at Sampdoria isn’t as dire as the immediate impression would lead one to believe.

Sitting in eleventh place they are well away from the relegation zone, and none of their losses have been routs or beat downs.

Claudio Ranieri is famous for his straightforward no nonsense football and this has been exactly the case with his side this season.

Tinkerman Ranieri continues to trust his basic 4-4-2 formation in most instances, relying on the evergreen Fabio Quagliarella to be the main attacking threat up front.

Inter know that Samp will primarily look to frustrate them, not giving anything up easily. This will be a match where Antonio Conte’s men need to show maturity and steadfastness if they want to take home all three points.

Unless Inter manage to score within the first 10 minutes or so, expect this match to be more of a war of attrition where Alexis Sanches and Lautaro Martinez’s movement and quality up front allow the visitors to capitalize on individual errors and clinch the win.

If Inter are to continue challenging for the scudetto, it’s these types of matches that teams can build campaigns on. Inter cannot afford to drop points.

Team News

Romelu Lukaku has passed his last minute fitness test, but will be expected to remain on the bench throughout the duration of the match. While Matias Vecino continues training with the group, his condition is not sufficiently recovered to merit a call-up for the matchday squad.

Probable Line-up (3-5-2): Handanovic (C); Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Hakimi, Gagliardini, Brozovic, Barella, Young; Sanchez, Lukaku

Stats

Last Season: Sampdoria 1 – 3 Inter.

Last 10 Head to Head: Inter hold a commanding lead in the head to head encounters with their hosts with seven wins to just two wins for Samp. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Inter have won the previous six matches in a row.

Keep an Eye on:

Lautaro Martinez: Lautaro seems to have a knack for stepping up when Inter need him most. With Lukaku most likely missing the match, all the Argentine needs to do is replicate a fraction of the form he showed when scoring his first hat-trick over the weekend.

Officials

Referee: Paolo Valeri.

Assistants: Passeri and Vivenzi.

Fourth Official: Massa.

VAR: Chiffi and Paganessi.

Prediction & Concluding Remarks

Prediction & scorers: Sampdoria 1 – 2 Inter Sanchez and Lautaro to win it for the guests.

Concluding remarks: Sampdoria will score. There seems to be no way Inter can keep a clean sheet at the moment. However, expect Inter’s attack, especially the rested and returning Alexis to replicate his performance from last season and be too much for the Doria’s defense to handle.